Trials of Blues
by Proto Stryker
Summary: Soon after Protoman's creation, he ran off to another land. Could he be getting homesick?
1. The Yellow Bundle

**Chapter 1**

Sunlight started to illuminate the cliff that overlooked the vast ocean. A small cave could be seen burrowed inside the high wall. There was no way down from there except for flying or climbing two hundred and fifty feet up to the plateau.

This was the way he liked it though. No one would dare climb down the wall and find him, even if they did know he was there. Falling into the water would not affect him, but there was a chance he would hit the jagged rocks below and surely be destroyed. The way up, on the other hand, would be easy for him to accomplish. He had done so very many times before.

As the light crept across the floor of the cave, he slept peacefully on a mat. The ray's fingers crept slowly towards his face. They pulled his eyes open and he blinked a few times. He sat up and yawned, staring out at the water and the sun rising above it. He stood up to stretch him joints and rub his eyes.

He looked over to his left at the floor. There laid a pair of red metal boots, two red gauntlets, and a helmet with a black visor coming down from it. The rest of his armor was in different areas on the floor. He was wearing not much more than a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. His socks and shoes were together next to the mat. He kept a pair of sunglasses on to keep his eyes covered whether it be night or day, and he did this though no one would see him where he was.

He removed his shirt and shorts to put his gray chest armor and gray pants on. A red belt below his chest armor held them together. As he started to put his helmet on, he snatched off his glasses and slid the visor over his eyes so fast that no one would have seen them. He put his boots on after that, and they tightened up around his knee so they wouldn't come loose and fall off. His gauntlets slid on easily almost like gloves.

He started to leave the cave when he suddenly remembered something. He walked back to his mat, but couldn't find what he was looking for. He searched for another moment before thinking to lift up the mat. Under it, was a heap of yellow. He grabbed it up and wrapped it around his neck. Now that he had his yellow scarf, he was ready for the day. His thoughts hung on the worry that this day would be a long one.


	2. The Mayor

**Chapter 2**

Blues walked to the end of the cave onto a platform jutting out from it. There was a light wind that blew his scarf to his left. He stared out at the water as he did every day. The sunrise always managed to catch his gaze at least for a few minutes. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides as they normally were. This view always woke him up. The smell of salt was evident to his sensors and the light shining onto his visor giving it a gleaming effect couldn't help but make him smile. He turned around and looked up to the top of the cliff. It was a long way up. Seeing how high it was didn't help him much. He frowned at the sight above him.

'_I looked up again… I need to remember not to do that.' _he thought prepping himself mentally.

He put one hand up and grabbed onto a rock sticking out. He grabbed another and started to pull himself up. This required a good amount of strength due to the fact that he wasn't using his legs yet, and his boots were weighing him down as they dangled below him. Slowly, he got up high enough to start climbing with all four of his limbs. A wind picked up and blew his scarf in front of his face. He swept it back with one hand and kept climbing. At this point, the ascent was no problem for him.

Once he got to the top, he looked around and saw the land around him. There were a few trees here and there, but it was mostly grass blowing in the wind. He started off straight ahead at a walking pace. A small village was up ahead. The people in it lived in solitude as he did and would have nothing to do with modern technology. To them, he was another human with fancy clothes from a city. He wasn't wearing street clothes now though. He was in his armor today and was serious about what he was going to be doing.

The people were doing various chores around the village. Some were carrying water and other tasks while others ran small shops. People gave him strange looks. They wanted no part of modern technology and this was something of it. As long as he didn't push anything on them, they wouldn't mind him though. They went on about their business as he walked on by.

He approached the largest building there. A windmill fan blew at the top, though it had no real purpose other than decoration. It was the center of the village and the residence of the mayor. He walked up to the front and started to walk on in, but several people stepped in front of him. They all bore swords and didn't seem intent on letting him in at all.

"Where are you from? You seem to have come from a distant country. At this time we can't let anyone see the mayor that isn't from here."

"I know what this village is going through," Blues responded. "I've come here to offer my services. I live not far from here anyway."

"That group just over these mountains isn't far from here. You could be from there so we can't let you see the mayor."

"I want to speak with him. You can guard me while I do so."

They finally agreed to let him by, but five villagers surrounded him so he wouldn't try to harm the mayor. They walked him to the mayor's desk and prepared themselves incase he really did decide to go against his word. There was no way Blues would attempt this, though he'd succeed if he tried.

"Outsider, what business do you have here?" the mayor started. He was a portly man that seemed to be enjoying the cigarette sitting between his lips. He was graying and wrinkles were visible on his face. His brown eyes seemed weary. Blues had seen him several times before, but not with his battle armor on. The mayor wouldn't recognize him like this.

"The town on the other side of the mountain is trying to get you under there control. I know that and I'd like to help you fend them off." Blues replied simply.

"Honestly, I've considered just giving up to them. They are a fierce group. It'd be wise to avoid conflict."

"You can't. I won't let you give up. I'll help. I alone could take out many of their army. It is quite powerful, but I could get through with little effort and some help from your village." Blues stated.

"I can't trust you anyway. If you think I can, then show me how. Your armor would suggest that you are with them."

"I have no proof. If you don't believe me then I will just fight them off anyway."

"By yourself? Impossible! Fine then, we will send some of our own to help you. Be ready, and please, don't betray us."

"I don't plan on it." Blues said turning away and leaving the main building. The mayor stared after him, thoroughly confused as to what he had gotten his village into. This was all on his head if something went wrong now. He cared about the village, sure, but he didn't want to look bad in front of his people. He stuck the cigarette into a tray and started pacing the room.

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Yeah, the last one still looks a bit short, doesn't it? It was just an intro chapter anyway. Comments and questions gladly accepted. 


	3. Battle Plain

**Chapter 3**

"They are on the mountain already. They will be coming down here shortly to attack I assume." Blues was at the edge of the village and the foot of the mountains. Villagers were armed with various weapons. Some carried swords, but others handled pitchforks. Blues was uneasy with the throw-together army backing him up. Even kids were called upon to help out. They were only 10 or so and trying to defend their home.

One kid was carrying a heavy shield. It was almost as big as he was, and probably weighed as much, but he handled it somehow.

"How do you plan to fight with such a large shield?" Blues asked.

"I'll be fine. I crafted this shield myself out of a very sturdy metal. If they can break this, we don't deserve to win anyway. I have a sword with me so don't worry." He responded. Blues noticed the sword. It was more like a dagger, but to the kid it was a sword.

"Good luck to you then." Blues said with a smile on his face.

"What are you going to fight with sir? I don't see a weapon on you…"

"I have my fists. They will do for now."

"If you're sure, then okay… I still don't see how that will help though."

"You'll see kid, don't worry." Blues said, the smile disappearing from his face. "Here they come. They will want to speak with us first I would imagine. In hopes of taking us down easily…"

Sure enough the large army stopped a couple of hundred yards away. They carried guns, swords, and they wore sturdy armor, some of which looked similar to Blues' armor. They were well equipped where the villagers had very little to protect them. Blues was starting to worry more.

"You! Armored one, are you leading this group?" a heavily armored soldier said. It was obvious he was leading the others. His armor was adorned with various medals. His shield had many notches on the back indicating the number of people he had killed. He had a fierce look in his eyes as he stared Blues down.

"That I am. I advise you to leave before we are forced to kill you though." Blues said coldly.

"Don't make me laugh! You are nothing compared to us! Look at you all. Farmers pretending to be soldiers... Give up and lay down your weapons."

Blues walked up to the leader of them. The soldier pointed his sword at Blues' throat. The next few things happened quickly. The soldier started to try and stab, but Blues pushed the sword aside and grabbed the man around the neck. The other soldiers ran down the mountain in response as Blues threw the soldier into several others. Several farmers let out war whoops as they rushed to meet the onslaught.

The villagers were mixed in action. Some of the kids started to run. Others of them charged the army while others stood ready to defend. Blues wasn't about to let them charge forward into their death though. He took off into the mass of people and started to knock out the soldiers with only his fists and legs. The opposing soldiers could not seem to hurt Blues even if they could land a hit on him. This only angered him and made him fight more fiercely.

The leader of the group had not died and decided it was time for them to be going. He called the order for them to retreat and soldiers started to run. Several stubborn ones tried to stay, but were beaten down by the farmers quickly. The leader went the opposite way of his men into the group of villagers, knocking them out of the way. He was after the kid with the shield from before and figured it was time he hit the villagers where it would really hurt. The kid started to stab at him with the dagger, but the man knocked it and the shield away from him simply. He smirked quickly and stabbed the kid's chest. The child fell to his knees and hit the ground, coughing up blood. Blues had already taken off and knocked the man over. He was now enraged and was beating the man into nothingness. The villagers took the kid back into the village and laid him on a bed to tend to his wound. Blues stood over the heartless man with tightened fists. He was alone on the battle plain, with only death around him. This is where he stood for at least another hour.


	4. Antidote

Here it comes. Look out, it's Chapter Four.

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**Chapter 4: Antidote**

Blues walked inside the home he knew the child lived in. He found the boy lying on his own bed. The kid had cloths wrapped around his chest, and he didn't look too well. He had lost a lot of blood and was dying slowly. His face had paled white and he was shivering as if he were cold. A cough escaped him a few times. Blues walked over to him and kneeled beside the bed. He looked over at Blues and smiled. The mysterious robot forced a smile himself.

"We won. They hit the shield five times. You can't even tell it was hit at all. It didn't break and we are safe. Thank you sir."

"The name's Blues. What is yours?"

"My name is Nakatsu. I am glad you could help us out Blues."

"Don't mention it Nakatsu. I was glad to help."

"I'm… going to die aren't I? I could tell by the way they acted around me," he said referring to the people that tried to fix his wound.

"You don't seem that bad. I've seen people survive worse stuff than this." This wasn't really true or false. Other residents of the village had been attacked by wolves and lived, but they were adults. Nakatsu wouldn't have survived that, but this wound wasn't as bad. Blues couldn't figure out why the boy was suffering so much.

A villager walked in and motioned for Blues to follow him outside. Blues did so hesitantly. He began talking low so Nakatsu wouldn't hear.

"The sword was coated with a poison. It will kill him soon if we don't do something about it. I would imagine the city over the mountain has some type of antidote, but we can't go get it," the man said. He was a doctor for the village. Blues had seen him many times before, but again, he'd never been seen wearing his armor.

"I will. That kid was of great help. It's the least I can do." Blues responded.

"I couldn't ask you to do that… You have already done so much."

"You don't have to ask… I'm going." Blues walked back in and kneeled next to Nakatsu again. "I'm going to get you an antidote for a poison that was on the blade. I will be back soon, alright?"

"Thank you… I may not live that long though."

"I'll be back real quick. Don't die while I'm gone, alright?"

"Take… my shield. They will be aggressive over there…" Nakatsu said handing Blues his shield that lay propped on the other side of the bed. It stretched from his knees up past his neck, and had an oval shape that was pointed at the ends of the longer axis. It was solid white with a red line that was the circumfrence of it. A rectangular hole was made near the top to see through. Blues took it in his hand and started to leave.

"See you then Nakatsu," he whispered. He heard the child cough once more as he left.

Blues walked past several villagers that bowed to him. It wasn't just for saving the village. They bowed because he was leaving to save one of their own. He started at a run for the mountains in front of him. He would have to hurry if he wanted to save Nakatsu.

The forest just beyond the battlefield was covered with vines blocking the way. It was at this time he wished he had taken a sword with him. It was dark in the woods even though it was only a little after noon. Nothing seemed to get in his way except for overgrowth. Suddenly three soldiers came running at him. They seemed to be expecting someone to come. He punched two of them and kicked the other. They fell quickly and he kept going. It was another hour before he topped the mountain. He looked ahead of him and the city lay not far below. It was on a plain that extended from the mountain. The land here was higher than that the village was on.

A wall surrounded the city and he could see a small castle rising above it. As he got nearer to the city an arrow flew by him, and he could hear gunshots. He put the shield in front of him just in time for an arrow to bounce off. Someone must have escaped and told the city to be on the lookout for him. He deflected the shots and got to the gate. It was high in front of him, but a few punches and kicks would probably knock it down.

He started to hit it and it suddenly opened revealing twenty guards that began to attack him. The shield was a great help after all as he mowed through them with little effort. Cannons situated on the castle walls started to shoot at him also. He dodged them while he looked for a pharmacy type of store. He noticed one with potions and similar things in the window and ran inside.

"I need an antidote to cure an advanced poison. I know you have one here." He said angrily.

The man at the counter found one on his shelf and handed to him, his hands shaking.

"I know the army is ruthless, but don't be angry at all of us. What they are doing with the king like this is wrong. Please, go." He said covering his face. When he noticed Blues didn't kill him, he looked up and no one was there. He sighed and fell back into a chair, glad that nothing more had happened than what just did. Now he only hoped the army didn't find out of his treasonist act.

In the meantime, Blues was having trouble getting back outside the walls. Guards continued to fire at him from both sides and he realized that he would have trouble shielding it all. A soldier ran up to him and tried to slash him, but Blues was able to get past him and knock the shield from the knight's hand. Blues took it and started blocking both sides. It was easy for him to get back outside the massive gates now. As he ran past the guards he had knocked back or knocked down, he turned and tossed the guard's shield back at a few people chasing him. He was in the forest and hopefully home free.

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Enjoy? Hate? Spelling errors? Comment, Critique, and point them out to me please.  



	5. The Shield and the Loss

Sorry it has been so long since I last decided to update. The story as I write it as at ten chapters so far, but I've been caught up with alot of stuff. Hope this one turns out better than the last ones. A friend pointed out a few errors, and if time permits, I'll go back and edit them. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

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Blues ran back into the house and got next to Nakatsu. He seemed to be in worse shape than he was before. He kept coughing, and they seemed to sound more and more dry as they came. A teen was standing next to him. He pulled his sword out when he saw the armor, but realizing he was no threat, he put it away again. 

"You have the antidote… right?" he looked at Blues with an expression of surprise.

"You're… his brother?" Blues asked handing the teen the antidote.

The teen kneeled down and administered the antidote to the wound. "Yes. He is my brother. I'm glad you saved him my friend."

"Nagoya, I should have sent him-"

"Don't worry about it Blues. He did a good job out there. You wouldn't be able to send him back inside anyway." Nagoya interrupted him.

"I should have made him though…"

"You didn't know the outcome. He's a great fighter and hard-headed too. Don't worry yourself over it… The doctor went to see if he had anything that would help. He should be coming back now."

About then, the doctor came through the door. It was the same one Blues had spoken to earlier. He held a bottle containing some pills. They would only ease Nakatsu's pain though. It wouldn't really cure him.

"He appears to be getting better... May I speak to you two outside?"

The two followed him outside and he started to speak again. "I'm afraid he won't make it. The poison has spread too much and he has lost a lot of blood. Even with the antidote, I'm afraid it's hopeless. I'm sorry Nagoya."

"That is alright… Sh- should we tell... tell him though?" Nagoya's eyes started to water. He was about to lose his little brother. It wasn't sitting well with him, obviously. His hands were limp at his sides. He bit his lip to hold back tears.

Blues decided to jump in. "The antidote should save him though! He will be alright… won't he?" Blues was sad, but he wouldn't show how much. He had to have some hope remaining for him and Nagoya.

"I'm afraid not. The poor child was too small for his immune system to help any… The antidote will not be of much use. It will only prolong the effects… You should be by his side Nagoya."

Nagoya agreed and went back in. The doctor continued. "This is all your fault. If we had just given in, none of this would have happened. He would live to see tomorrow. But no, you came in and tried to protect us. You should leave as soon as possible."

Blues said nothing. He walked towards the mountain range in silence. He knew the what the doctor was going to say beforehand. The look in his eyes gave it away. Suddenly, he was met by angry villagers carrying weapons. They were at the disadvantage, but they honestly did not care.

"The kid will die. It is your fault. We can't let you leave the village alive! The city over the mountains will only attack us again and wipe us out! Die!" various people yelled at him from different parts of the group.

"You would all die in the end. Nakatsu's death was my fault, though. I never entered this village alive in the first place. I can't die…" he said as he started to run at them, rage engulfing him. He ran straight through them, knocking a few people out of the way. He was headed off for the city again. They started to chase after him, but were stopped by Nagoya. He had a red and white shield, Nakatsu's shield, with him.

"Justice will be served. I will go after him. Do not worry." he told them. Nagoya headed off into the mountains, in search of Blues. The others did not argue with him. They wondered what he planned to do against such a strong person.

"It really was my fault… I couldn't save him… I was too late to do anything." Blues was near the top of the mountains, thinking about the village, Nakatsu, and Nagoya, who would probably no longer let him live if he saw him again. His friend who he had known the whole time he had been with the village would now want him dead.

Blues snapped out of it though. He knew what he had to do. He needed to stamp out the problem. The city and its castle were up ahead. He would finish them off and be done with it. He would think about where to go when he had completed his task. He started his run back down the other side of the range towards the gates.

The place was unguarded now for some reason. Blues was starting to wonder if they were waiting in the castle or something. He approached the gates and arrows started to rain down. One hit his armor and bounced off. They weren't sharp or strong enough to get through his armor. This was a pleasing thought. The robot continued on past them, running full speed. The castle was now just before him. He punched a hole in the castle door and started to punch again. To his surprise, the doors opened from the inside.

He would have taken notice of the inside of the palace, but two cannons were pointed straight at him. Behind them were two great doors that possibly led to the king. From what he heard at the medicine shop, the king wasn't even running the army. He got out of the way before the cannonballs hit and ran at the soldiers operating them.

"You will not pass!" One of them said pulling a sword on Blues.

"I'm not after your king. I know better than that."

"Y- you know he doesn't run our army?" the other soldier asked, startled.

"I do now at least." Blues smiled and punched the first soldier into the second. A smaller door on the right side of the room was the most probable path to whoever was really running things. The door led into a staircase that seemed to spiral down forever. Blues was really starting to get annoyed at how long this thing continued downward. He finally approached the bottom and saw a brute talking with two other soldiers. They hadn't noticed him as he moved behind a pillar. He listened carefully as they continued their conversation.

"The king will die shortly. His health is deteriorating so he can't last much longer. Then, I will take the crown and for all your help, you two will become leaders of the army. I will split it evenly among you." the brute said.

"We came to tell you that there is barely an army left. You know that right?" one soldier said worriedly.

"You mean the village was able to wipe out that many?" the man said, startled at the soldier's statement. He knew they had lost by now, but not that they had lost that many of their own men.

"Reports say it was mostly some kid in red and gray armor. We don't know how he got to be so strong, but he got through the army like it was nothing." the second soldier said enthusiastically.

"Not to worry, I will join you next time and wipe them all out." The brute said.

Blues realized that a second assault would surely wipe out the village without his help. He leaped from behind the pillar and yelled at the two. "You won't go near them!" Whether or not the village hated him, he had to keep them safe. It was the least he could do.

"So, you finally decided to show yourself. You're the one that wiped out my army. I'll just take you down now and have you out of my way. You know what will happen to that village and there is nothing you can do about it." He started to laugh. Blues took this chance and charged at the man. His swiped his arm vertically and knocked Blues into a wall. The red robot got to his feet and realized that though big and muscle-bound, this guy was quick to react.

Blues walked towards him slowly. The man did nothing and let Blues approach; probably thinking he was quick enough to hit Blues again. Blues laughed inwardly at the man's stupidity and dropped to the ground and slid into the man's legs, knocking him backwards. He then jumped up and landed on the brute's stomach, knocking the breath out of him.

The two soldiers weren't about to stand by and watch. They hit the robot with their shoulders and sent him to the ground. In turn, they fell over, clutching their hurt shoulders. The brute got his bearings back and grabbed Blues's foot. He tossed him into the wall near the staircase where a guard was standing silently.

"What is it guard?" The brute grunted staring into the man's eyes. The guard tried to utter something before falling over dead. Behind him stood the teen, Nagoya, holding his family's sword and his brother's shield. Tears were still visible on his face as he ghosted a smile.

"Need some help Blues?" he said grabbing the robots hand and pulling him up. Blues turned to the brute and two soldiers. He started at the brute with a run, catching him off guard, and head-butted him. The brute was hit with such force that he crashed into a wall behind him. Nagoya ran at the two soldiers and fought with them so that Blues could take down the brute.

"So, you are the one that is leading these men. You are a pathetic life form." Blues said, kicking him in the side.

"General Revel!" one soldier shouted before getting stabbed by Nagoya. The other kept striking at Nagoya in vain.

"So the name's Revel. You have no idea the pain you've caused these people. You should die, but I won't be the one to do that." Blues turned and hit the remaining soldier in side, sending him to the floor. "You're not here to kill me, Nagoya?"

"No, I told the villager's justice would be served and it has. I can go back now and tell them the good news. They will kill you at site… Well, they'd try anyway." Nagoya said. He walked over to Revel and stabbed him several times without hesitation.

"He deserved more than death, but that is all I could give him. Thank you Blues. You are a true friend." He extended his hand to Blues. Blues gripped and shook his hand. About that time an arrow spun through the air and hit Nagoya in the neck. He fell to the ground as his grip on Blues' hand went to nothing. Blues turned to face an archer, shaking in his boots trying to point an arrow at the robot. Blues made a dash for the fool and punched him in the stomach several times before hitting him in his neck.

He turned to run back to Nagoya. Time itself seemed to stop. The room was no longer there. Blues felt like he was trying to run underwater. He knew his friend was about to go. There was nothing he could do to keep it from happening. After a few seconds, which felt like hours, he reached his friend's side. "Nagoya… I'm sorry. I'll kill every last one of them, I swear. I'll kill them all."

"He missed my vocals… I can still talk… Don't be sorry. They were just led astray. Things can be… straightened out. Don't kill them Blues," he said while Blues remained silent, "Take... Take my brother's shield. You should have it. Something to remember me and Nakatsu by…" Nagoya fell silent. Blues picked him up and carried him outside the castle towards the village, the shield on his back. No soldier dared to shoot at him now. They all knew better than to do such a thing.

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Diddya like it? R&R people, it won't kill you. 


	6. Awkward Memorial

**Chapter 6: Awkward Memorial**

Blues laid Nagoya outside the village. Some of the residents walked towards him and hung their heads. The mayor walked towards him with some of his personal guards following.

"Do you see what this boy has done? He has killed another of our own! We must stop him before he has the chance to continue on like this!" he bellowed. The other villagers said nothing, but looked down at the body. One of them stooped down and looked at the wound.

"Part of an arrow is in his neck. This boy couldn't have…"

"He did, but he is making it look like someone else did. Even if he didn't, it's his fault Nagoya ended up this way. Guards, capture him… dead or alive." The guards didn't move though. Instead they just watched Blues stand there.

Blues spoke up finally. His voice was shaky.

"He fought to protect your village. He ended the threat. All you need to do now is go and speak with the king, and ask for peace with one another. Don't let Nagoya's death be in vain."

"We don't plan to. Guards! Get him! Are you def?" the mayor yelled. The guards still would not move. A villager turned to face the mayor.

"You are a blind fool. This boy is not the cause. It is not his fault. Are you so stupid that you can't see what is in front of you? We have peace with them now. It is your job to work and uphold that peace. This boy has done nothing wrong. You won't take him. Your guards see that clear enough. So should you." The others nearby nodded in agreement. The mayor turned and walked away not saying a word.

"We're terribly sorry about that. You helped our village. We are grateful. We are going to give Nagoya a proper burial. Will you come?" one person spoke up. Blues could tell he they were all being sincere.

"I can't. It was my fault he died so it wouldn't be right if I were there. I am sorry, but you'll have to do this without me." Blues said walking past the villagers towards the cliff off in the distance. He planned to show up, but not as the ruthless robot. He planned to be there as Nagoya's friend through the time he had spent near the village.

Blues jumped off the cliff side like he normally would and landed on the platform jutting out from the cave. He walked inside the dark place and took his helmet off replacing it with his sunglasses. The sun was over the cave by now and the light wasn't coming in directly. He changed into his clothes and walked back out. He held a pack on his back containing all his armor.

He reached the top of the cliff and thought to himself for a moment.

'_I'll need to act as his friend this one last time. They can't know who I've been this whole time. It would hurt them more than his death alone would. Nagoya may have known who I was, but the others didn't seem to notice. I'll leave them without that knowledge. I'll tell them I have to leave and that my time with them has to be cut off.'_

He got near the village again and one of Nagoya's friends ran up to Blues.

"Blues! I'm glad to see you're back today. I… have some bad news."

"I heard already. I'm sorry to hear about Nakatsu, Nagoya, and the others. I should have been here to help."

"It wouldn't matter. You know that you're just one kid. Your strength wouldn't be enough." The kid replied. Blues found that statement hard to bear. It was his strength that got them killed. At least, that's how he felt about it. He tried to shake off the feeling, but in vain.

The two walked towards the center of the village where everyone stood around the bodies of those who died, which were covered with sheets except for their heads. Many of them were crying over the losses while some stood strong, but looked hurt inside. Some walked over to Blues when they saw him and shook his hand, glad that he came to see Nakatsu and Nagoya.

The coffins were being made for the bodies now, and holes were being dug in the cemetery. Some of the dead were lifted up and lowered into the coffins as they were being finished. The coffins themselves were made of a polished oak. They were well made to have been done so this quickly. This village had a dine carpenter. As they were lowered into the individual pits, the mayor would say words about each of them, knowing everyone in the village well. When they came to Nakatsu and Nagoya, who had been decided by the others to be side by side, the mayor said it would be best for Blues to say something instead. Blues made his way to the front of the two coffins. He thought for a moment about what to say before speaking.

"These two were my best friends by far in this whole time I've been with this village. They were both strong people through all the things I've seen them do. Believe me, they were good with a sword," he said rubbing his arm. The villagers smiled at the comment and allowed Blues to continue. "They were brave for sure. We went on many travels into the woods near here and found some pretty mean things. Those bear aren't easy to make fall, you know.

"Through all the things we've done, I never would imagine they would have to die to protect their home, though I never doubted they would be able to mentally. They have proved to be strong, dependable, and brave right until their end. I am very glad to have known them my few months here." He fell silent and walked away from the site. The mayor followed after him.

"That was a great speech Blues. I couldn't have said those words any better."

Blues couldn't help but feel resentment for the mayor now, but smiled anyway. He knew the mayor meant no harm in yelling at him before. He just wanted to protect his village when it came down to it.

"Mayor… I'm leaving the village." He started.

"Wha... How long will you be gone?" The mayor seemed shocked to hear it, but gave an inquisitive look at Blues.

"I don't plan on returning. It seems that my home is calling me back there. I feel like there is nothing left for me here but sadness anyway. Thank you for your kindness. I will be going now. Maybe someday I will return." Blues said walking away from the village.

"I'll tell the villagers after they have calmed down. Goodbye… Blues." The mayor returned back to the others. Blues kept on walking. He decided now would be a good time to see what had become of his homeland. He'd need a boat to get there. He was sure he knew where he could get one, too.


	7. Frog in the Night

**Ri2: Thank you very much for the comments.  
AiedailBrisinger: 1) No, this is not Chaud's point of view. Incase you didn't notice, it's the CLASSIC series. 2) Blues is Protoman's nickname. Read up on Megaman please.**

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Chapter 7: Frog in the Night**

He knew of a port a small way away. If he could get to it soon, he could catch the next big ship to leave port. He'd be lucky at this rate though. He started at a run till he came to another forest. At this point he had to slow himself down to maneuver through trees and bushes. A couple of times, a branch would be low and hit him in the face. He kept moving nonetheless, brushing the limbs out of the way.

He finally decided to take another approach. He grabbed a low limb and swung himself up on top of it. From there, he sprung to another limb. He hadn't done this before, but it seemed easy enough. He continued to do this for a while since it was faster than moving on the ground. He went to grab at a limb, but succeeded in hitting his head on one higher up. He fell to the ground and sat for a moment before moving on again.

Before long, the port town came into sight. It was more developed than the places he had been in recently, but it was still not as grand as the cities back home. As he got closer, he could see what he had feared – the one good ship had just set sail.

"Darn it… It won't be back for at least two weeks… What now?" he said to himself. Now that it was gone, what would he do? He could see if another ship was in port or would be soon. That was all he had to go on now. He approached the town limits and started for the harbor. He got nearer and noticed someone staring out at the ship that was leaving.

"Excuse me. Do you know when another ship will be in port?" Blues asked.

"You mean one worthy of travel I assume. Sorry, there is one, but it is in need of repair. The scientist working on it should be done in three days. You aren't from here, are you?" the man responded. Blues shook his head quietly. "Then you should go to the inn and get a room. Good luck, traveler."

Blues walked away to find an inn. It didn't take long either. A cabin like building with a sign hanging over the door wasn't far from the harbor. He went inside and talked to the woman at the counter. She was fairly young. No older than thirty at most.

"What brings you here, child? You seem to have come quite a ways." she asked Blues politely.

"I came to catch that ship, but I was too late. From what I hear, another is in repair and will be done in about three days." he replied.

"Don't count on it. We haven't seen the scientist in a week. People are being hopeful. He lives in the mountains to the north with his daughter. There is no telling when he'll come back. Of course, he may just not come back." she hung her head and sighed. She gave Blues his room key and he walked up the wooden stairs by the counter.

'_I'll go look for him in the morning. I want to get home as soon as I can.'_

He went in his room and looked around. He had a nice view of the ocean out of his window. Everything was crafted out of oak. Vents came from the fire downstairs, bringing in heat. He sat down on the bed and practically sank into it. His armor was on the floor, and he reclined back. He could tell sleep was coming on so he kicked his shoes off. Sleep soon found him and he was well relaxed. Nothing bothered him that night.

Outside, a frog was in the streets. It wasn't quite a normal one though. This one was a robot. It had a blank look on its face. He didn't seem menacing, but something about the thing was off. Most people were in bed, and the one person that saw it was mildly drunk and figured what he saw was just the result of too many booze. He hopped down the street, not paying attention to the drunken man.

--------

Blues awoke the next morning to shouts in the streets. He walked outside the inn to see a group of about nine or ten arguing about some robot last night. He listened in and heard that some ship parts had been stolen from a store. The drunken man was also giving his input saying he saw a robot last night himself. Of course, he forgot that it looked like a frog so no one knew that much.

'_If they find out I'm a robot, I'll be in a world of trouble. I can't have another village incident like before. I should hurry and find the scientist be-'_

"You! Child," a townsman yelled at him, "did you happen to see a robot last night?" Blues shook his head and started walking north to the mountains.

The townspeople kept shouting. "It was that scientist! It had to be! He doesn't care about our ship! Just his stupid projects! Get the militia to go after him! We can't let him keep this up! Yeah!" various people shouted out. Blues stopped in his tracks. He'd better see what they planned to do first. He went to the inn and grabbed the bag containing his armor. He checked out and walked back outside.

Thirty minutes later, a group was assembled with guns near the northern part of the town. Blues knew they were taking this too far. The robot most likely could attack them, though. The man may or may not be behind this. Either way, he needed to speak with the man, so he'd need to hurry before they could capture the scientist. He ran off into the mountains' forests.

These mountains were much higher than those near the ruthless kingdom. It wouldn't be easy to get to him. At least, he figured that until he saw a poorly done path before him. He'd need to stay off it though because of the villagers. He get a ways off the path just incase and started to put his armor back on. After he did this, he noticed that the militia was slowly making their way up the mountain. He'd get ahead of them easily.

Using his tree jumping technique, he made his way further up the mountain with little trouble. As he looked ahead, he couldn't see the scientist's residence at all. He wasn't sure how much further it would be, but kept going at top speed. A little ways later, he noticed a camera in a tree in front of him. It was concentrated on the path and not what was in the trees so he decided that it he shouldn't take it out, but move past so as not to disturb anything.

Up ahead he could see a satellite coming into view. It was on a flat surface, so any building up there couldn't be seen until he was right in front of it. From what he could tell, the home was quite modern compared to the ones in the town below. It was large also. One section of the house was a good bit larger than the rest. Blues figured that this was the lab section. The front door seemed easy enough to get to. He walked up and knocked on the door as if he was paying a casual visit.

Instead of getting a welcome from inside, he was knocked over by the green frog robot. It now had a menacing look in its eyes as it jumped back to stare down its opponent. Blues regained his footing, and took the red and white shield off his back.

"If the doc is going to make attacking robots, why in the world did he make a worthless frog?" Blues mocked the toad.

"Watch your mouth! I have a surprisingly good attack. I'll show you my power!"

The frog pulled a ball seemingly out of nowhere. Blues laughed at it to taunt the frog while keeping his shield up just in case. The now angered toad tossed it over Blues' head and it burst open. A rush of water splashed down on Blues. It was acidic though, and Blues could feel it burning his armor. This wasn't going to be quite as easy as he originally thought.

The toad started to throw another, and Blues jumped up into the air to meet it. He punched the bomb with his shield knocking the splash back onto the frog. The toad shook off the water and laughed.

"You can't hurt Toadman with his own acid!" he yelled out.

That was what Blues was waiting for. He thrust the shield into Toadman knocking him off his feet and onto the ground. The frog hopped back to his feet easily enough and jumped high up into the air. Blues was wondering what was going on, but soon found out. Toadman came back to Earth to hit Blues in the chest, sending him several feet back to crash into the ground head first.

Blues was up quick enough to realize that another acid ball was over his head. He dived out of the way just in time and started running towards the frog. Toadman jumped over Blues, kicking him in the back of the head as he went. Blues was getting angry, but kept his cool. He tossed the shield sideways at the frog like a Frisbee just as he landed. It hit him with such force that he was down on the ground and shut down.

Blues could now hear footsteps approaching from behind so he grabbed his shield and ran up to the house knocking once again. He realized that the doctor would not open the door so he pulled back to punch it instead, but it swung open before his fist made contact. He walked inside and was met in the back of the head with a large frying pan. He barely felt it and turned to see a scared girl of about his height looking at him. She had a tall wool hat on her head and was wearing a red coat with black boots. Her hair was a blonde color. She bashed him square in the nose this time. He jumped back, rubbing his nose.

"What was that for?" He yelled out at her. She seemed even more scared now and started to run, but Blues caught her arm. She hit him with her fist this time, and tried to hit him with the frying pan again.

"I'm not here to harm you, alright?" Blues said, grabbing the pan from her. "I wanted to speak with your dad bout the boat in town."

"The villagers," she started, "are coming up this way though with weapons. Why?"

"Your dad stole parts for boats from a store in town with his frog robot. That is why they are coming this way." The girl started to calm down, but seemed to be worried.

"He needed those parts. The town won't let him buy anything until he repairs their boat. He needs a robot that can go under it and fix it right now though."

"Alright, I believe you. The villagers won't though. I'll need to send them off," he said turning to the metal doors. He started to open them, but this time it was she that grabbed his arm. He turned to look at her.

"You can't possibly fight them all off. They have guns. You'll be killed," she pleaded with him not to go.

"I don't plan to fight them. I can convince them to leave and tell them that I have it under control. I'm not sure if they'll believe me or not though," he opened the door with his free arm and was met by about fifty townsmen walking over the top of the hill onto the level ground the doctor's house was situated on. They stepped on Toad Man as they walked, and some stopped to kick the frog. Blues stopped outside the door and closed it behind him. The girl looked out a window. It was probably bulletproof.

"I am going to ask you to leave. I have the situation with the boat under control. I know why the doctor stopped working on it and stole parts from the town. He is building another robot to fix-"

"Shut up, robot!" a townsman yelled out. "You are working with him. It is obvious enough that you are one of his creations!" The girl's eyes widened. She hadn't even thought that he could be a robot until now. Surely her dad hadn't made him.

"I don't care what you think I am. I told you what is going on and I ask you to leave. The boat has a problem that is under water. That is what this robot is needed for."

"What about the frog? He could go down there!"

"There is a chance that he would pollute your water. He has acid-based attacks."

A shot suddenly rang out. Blues was holding his shield out to his right. It had a small dent in it. A townsman was hidden in the bushes hoping he hadn't been seen. Blues noticed before long. It now seemed like all the villagers were pulling up their guns in the same instance. All at once, there was a bright flash, and the people froze in place. Many were in the middle of raising their guns. Blues, too, had been frozen in place. He could still see though.

An orange and yellow robot with a light bulb on his head jumped off the roof of the home and faced Blues. He smiled and turned to the people. Blues fell to the ground confused. He was no longer stalled in time, but had a headache that wouldn't end. The orange robot turned to look at him.

"You are a robot. My Flash Stopper's effect won't last as long on you. The humans will be frozen in place for about an hour. That should give the doc ample time to finish Diveman. Oh yeah, my name's Brightman. I'll get your name later. Right now I need to knock you out." A plasma bullet hit Blues in the neck and he was out like a light.

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This is definitely a favorite chapter of mine. R&R as usual, please. 


	8. The Cossacks

**EmpyrealDragon: Glad you like it and thanks for the advice.  
Ri2: As always, thanks for the review. Kalinka wasn't all that little in the games to begin with, really.  
Jeadi: I'm very glad that you like it. Three and five are my favorites for those same reasons. Sure, EXE is an alright game (the show flat out sucks if you ask me), but you can't beat the classics. Firstest with the mostest!

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Chapter 8: The Cossacks**

Blues slowly opened his eyes. He could tell he was on a very soft bed, but he hadn't taken in his surroundings just yet. He blinked several times, getting his eyes focused. A fairly tall man with a light brown beard and short brown hair was standing over him. This must have been the scientist he was looking for, but that wasn't first in Blues's mind at the moment. His head was spinning like a whirlpool and his neck still hurt from getting shot.

"Hello there, boy. Did you have a nice nap?" he asked in a polite manner. "I'm sorry that I had Brightman put you out like that, but I needed to keep you safe."

Blues tried to sit up. He noticed that he was only in his gray pants that were usually accompanied by his boots. He looked around for his armor or his bag of clothes. The doctor realized what he wanted and picked it up off of the floor and handed it to him.

"Your bag was in the bushes just before the path going down the mountain. Brightman saw it when he was getting Toadman," the scientist said as Blues searched through the bag, but was having difficulty getting hold of a shirt.

"Dad, how long will he be in my bed?" the girl from before said, sitting on the opposite side of the bed from the scientist. She had a smile on her face because she knew it embarrassed Blues that she was there. He snatched a shirt out of the bag finally and pulled it over his head. "Your face looks a bit red. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Kalinka Cossack," she said, still smiling.

Shaking his head to fix his hair, a thought struck Blues. He put a hand up to his face and found a pair of his sunglasses sitting there. Someone had to have taken his helmet off before putting the sunglasses on him.

"Did you… see my whole face?" he asked Dr. Cossack cautiously.

"I put my hand over your eyes when I removed your helmet. I noticed by the glasses in your bag you probably didn't like your eyes to be seen," Kalinka said. "Did you think my dad relieved you of your armor or something?" She had a glimmer in her eyes.

"I just thought the doctor would have or something," Blues mumbled, turning a darker red.

"Of course not. He was going to lay you on the couch in your armor. I suggested he lay you somewhere soft so you could rest easy." She stood up and ran her hand through his hair. "Your hair is really thick, you know." She was getting on Blues's nerves now. She had gotten too close to him, and now she was toying with his hair.

"Alright, Kalinka. Leave him alone. He needs to rest. You've taken quite a beating lately. You must have gone through a lot to get here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go work on Diveman." the scientist said quickly, heading out of the room.

As he left, Kalinka smiled at Blues and sat on the bed next to him.

"What is your name?" she asked simply.

"Blues," he stated. He never went by his other name. The one his own creator gave him. The name he had mentally discarded. The name of Proto Man. That name meant nothing to him anymore.

"Blues… I like that name. So, you seem to be in a hurry to have that boat fixed. Why is that?" she asked. Blues couldn't help but feel he was being interrogated for a crime. All there needed to be was the bright light shining directly on him. In her pink room it wouldn't change much, though.

"I want to go to my home country. I've been journeying around the past two years and I would like to look around some there," he answered her, turning his head away from her to stare at a window with curtains in front of it.

"I'd like to get away from this place. I've lived in these mountains all my life. Could I go back there with you, Blues?" she leaned back to get in his sight again.

"I prefer to travel alone. Besides, places over there are far more dangerous than these mountains," he told her. She sighed and frowned. She half expected to hear that from him.

"I understand. Daddy said you should rest, so I'll leave you here for awhile."

Blues pulled his legs back and sprung himself off the end of the bed.

"I'll be okay. Besides, I'd like to see how your father's robot is coming along."

He opened the door to leave the room. Kalinka got in front of him and acted like she was going to show Blues where it was. They walked into the living room firstly and then down a hall until they got to a staircase. She started to walk down the steps and Blues followed. Kalinka missed a step and started to fall. Blues put an arm down to catch her around the middle and put his other hand on the railing. He pulled her back up to him and didn't expect what came next. As soon as he pulled her up, she kissed him on the cheek and kept going down. Blues didn't know whether to be shocked or annoyed and ended being both at the same time. She was a bit too nice at times. No human boy had ever been up here, and Blues was as close as she had seen to one, robot or not.

They finally got to the bottom of the stairs. The lab wasn't what Blues had expected. Everything was well lit and it was fairly large. He noticed three pods set up on the wall. Toadman was in one of them, but the other two were empty. He expected they belonged to Brightman and Diveman. He couldn't help but wonder if the scientist had already made others or not.

Cossack was near one corner of the room with a magnifying glass clipped to his glasses. He was leaning over the ship-like robot working carefully. Diveman seemed to be near completion. He was completely put together at least, and the doctor was now working on his circuitry.

"How is he coming along, dad?" Kalinka asked, skipping up to her dad. Blues walked slowly behind. He was admiring the technology in the lab. Robot parts and schematics were in various places. It seemed that robots were all the doctor worked on down here.

Cossack didn't respond to Kalinka's question. Instead, he closed up the front panel on Diveman. The blue and white robot's eyes opened up and he looked from side to side for a moment. He put one hand flat on the table to sit himself up. He then turned to face Kalinka and Blues before standing up.

"Hello. My name is Diveman. You must be Kalinka," he said before looking at Blues, "I'm not sure I recognize you, but hello," he then turns to Cossack. "Nice to meet you doctor. Is there any task you want me to get started on?"

Cossack points at Blues. "This here is Blues. He joined us an hour ago. He fended off the townspeople while I was working on you. If it weren't for him, Kalinka could have been killed by them."

Blues was startled. "They would have gone that far?" he asked. He didn't think that they would be so fierce. Then again, they did shoot at him, but... he was a robot.

"I am inclined to believe so. Luckily, you were there to protect her."

Kalinka walked over to Blues and wrapped her arms around his neck. Had he needed to breathe, he would be choking right now, but breathing was not necessary for him so he just blushed lightly with a look of annoyance on his face.

"Thank you for saving me Blues," she said smiling.

"Y-you're we-welcome," he managed to get out. He could barely talk with her squeezing the life out of him. She let go and turned back to Diveman and Cossack. Cossack couldn't help but smile as Blues let in a big breath of air when she let go.

"Enough fooling around. We need to get to the town and fix that ship. Brightman!" Cossack called, summoning the light bulb robot. He walked up to Cossack from seemingly nowhere.

"Sir? Oh, right. I'm supposed to accompany you, Diveman, and Blues down to the ship incase that militia is ready to fight again," the bulb-headed robot said proudly.

"Correct. Blues, you should go and get into your armor," Cossack said as Blues nodded and started to walk up the stairs. Kalinka had a frown on her face since she wasn't acknowledged.

"What about me? Aren't I going with you dad?" she asked, already knowing what he would say.

"You know the answer is no. It is far too dangerous for you to go," the scientist replied.

Meanwhile, Blues was putting his helmet back on. Though annoying, he couldn't help but like the girl. She was very nice, though she clung to him a bit much. It almost made him want to stay. He finished getting his armor on and started to walk out the door. He was sure he had closed it before. He knew why it was open slightly, but didn't say anything as he joined the others.

Cossack, Diveman, Brightman, and Blues started at the trail down the mountain. Cossack and Blues waved to Kalinka one last time. Diveman was having trouble keeping up with the others. He had more weight to carry than they did, even if Brightman had a potbelly.

Sure enough, as they got down the mountain, they saw a militia group waiting. Brightman moved towards the front of the four of them.

"Come to steal more from us, eh? Or are you just going to destroy us all? Come on men lets-" the militia man was cut short as a flash engulfed the group. Brightman smirked as they walked past the frozen people. Cossack, Blues, and Diveman had turned the other way as Brightman leaned over so the light would focus at the group in front of them and not affect his comrades.

They got near the ship with no more objections. Cossack pulled out a monitor and told Diveman to go on under. As soon as Diveman hit the water, a video feed came up on the monitor Cossack had. He spoke instructions on how to fix the ship through a microphone. Diveman performed the indicated operations and surfaced.

"It should be good to go sir!" he yelled out to the scientist.

"Well, Blues, it looks like you will be able to go now. Make sure no one recognizes you though or you will be in trouble." Blues nodded in response. That was obvious enough, but he would need to think about how to avoid being noticed as a robot.

"Then I suppose it is time for me to get ready to leave." Blues said uneasily.

The group returned up the mountain, unopposed by the townspeople, to Cossack's home. The mob regained mobility not long after and admired the work the scientist and his robots did to the ship. They forgot their plans to chase after them, and instead, they went back to their normal lives. The captain of the ship didn't even seem to care and made preparations to set sail.

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**I hope I'm not getting Blues out of character. Tell me if you think I am, and keep sendin' them reviews! -**  



	9. News from Home

**Ri2: **There has always been that tendency in the MM fan comunity to think these two like each other. I like that thought also.  
**RandyPandy:** Actually, this chapter should answer that question.  
**Ryio16: **Sorry to keep you waiting, and here it is!

**

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Chapter 9: News from Home**

Kalinka ran out of the house and hugged her dad, Toadman following close behind. She was glad they could get back okay. Blues figured that she constantly worried about him, especially with all the townspeople angry with the both of them. He realized how nice the two of them really are and not the mean, shy type that the townspeople believed them to be.

"Let's get back in. No sense in standing out in the cold." Cossack said, opening the door and letting Kalinka, Blues, and the other Robot Masters in. Kalinka noticed that her dad was worn out from the hike and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Toadman had been waiting patiently for them to return.

"Blues, I'm sure you've met Brightman, Diveman, and Toadman by now." Cossack said as the robots acknowledged their names being called. "I'd show you the others, but they are off investigating or doing jobs." he continued as he thought of the other Robot Masters he created.

"The others? I thought these were the only ones you had created." Blues commented.

"No, no. I have several others. Pharaohman is currently in Egypt studying the pyramids, for example. That's what he was created for, after all. Drillman is accepting various construction jobs across the continent. Dustman is helping clean up disaster areas right now. I'm keeping track of them all so nothing bad happens to them." Cossack slipped into thought about his other robots. "I had an idea for one awhile back, and I'm still working on him, but I can't find a purpose for him."

Kalinka came back with a glass of water, which the doctor drunk down quickly. He thanked her and looked at Blues again. Kalinka, meanwhile, slipped back in next to Blues. He could smell a scent about her. It was foreign to him, but similar to a flower.

"I suppose I never gave you my full name. I am Dr. Mihail Sergeivitch Cossack. You told us your name was Blues, but do you have a last name?" Cossack questioned.

"I prefer to just be known as Blues, but my full name would be Blues Light."

"As in a creation of Dr. Thomas Light?" the scientist asked excitedly. Blues only nodded in response. Cossack seemed a bit excited at this, also. "That's amazing. So you must have met Rockman then, right?"

"Who? I was his first creation. I left as soon as I was activated. I don't know anything else he made." Blues made no expression to show curiosity about the mentioned robot. _'Rockman...? What a joke of a name.'_

Mihail frowned at the news of Blues running away. "Right... Well, off that subject then. I'm going to go look at some robot designs in my lab. If you get bored up here, feel free to join me."

Kalinka took this opportunity to hold on to the visored robot's arm. Blues only rolled his hidden eyes.

"Don't worry father. Blues shouldn't get bored." she commented with a smile. Cossack didn't seem to hear her and was already heading down the stairs. Brightman and Toadman followed eagrilly, in hopes of helping. Diveman didn't look all that interested and remained in the living room. He stared around the room, getting adjusted to his new home. He hadn't really been active long, so this was all new for him.

"Miss Kalinka, I am going to look around my new home. Is this alright?" he asked her as if he were a butler of some sort.

"Of course, Diveman. This is your home so you should feel free to go where you please." she replied. Diveman smiled and started to walk around, not quite sure where to go. Kalinka turned her attention back to the robot she was hanging onto still. She picked up the remote and looked at it thoughtfully.

"Want to watch TV? I'm sure something good is- DON'T GO IN _MY_ ROOM!"

Diveman felt something hit him in the back of the head. There was no pain, but he turned to look at the floor to see a remote lying there. He picked it up and rubbed his neck. "My apologies Ms. Kalinka." She got the remote and pointed him further down the hallway that was connected to the living room. She smiled at him to show that she wasn't mad. He returned a smile and wandered down the hall. Blues had taken a seat on a couch. He was mildly amused by Kalinka's protective nature. She ran back to where he was and plopped down next to him.

"Oh yeah, TV. Oh! My show is on!" Kalinka exclaimed. Blues thought glumly that it'd be a soap opera or something. She turned the television on and put it on a specific channel. To Blues's surprise, it was a game show.

"A game show?" he asked, now confused that she was so eager to see this show. She put a finger to her own lips with a "Shhh...", and continued to watch. He shrugged and found that it was interesting. _'The people on here can't guess the price of a blender? Not really surprising...'_

Less than an hour later the credits began to roll. Blues didn't gain much interest in the show, and Kalinka looked disappointed. The person she was rooting for overbid right at the end. When the show finally went off, the TV went straight to the news. It wasn't coming from the port town considering it didn't have any stations there (or televisions for that matter). The reception at the Cossack home came instead via satellite.

Blues did not give the television much attention. His thoughts were on what Dr. Cossack had said about his creator. The scientist's fame had not reached his ears the whole time he'd been gone. It also seemed that Cossack held a good deal of interest in this Rockman. Blues still thought the name was rather stupid, but he thought the same of Protoman or else he would go by it instead.

Kalinka saw that he was still in armor and sighed. He noticed why almost immediately and started to take off his helmet. The blonde-headed girl gasped when she thought she would actually see his whole face. Instead, as his hair sprung out when the helmet was removed, a pair of sunglasses was already sitting over his eyes. She looked quite annoyed when she figured out his secret.

"It's useful to be able to wear sunglasses under a helmet," he said, giving Kalinka a grin. He shook his head for a moment to rid himself of the helmet hair.

A picture flashed across the screen for a moment that caught Blues's attention. When he gave a good look, the image was back to a cityscape. He put two gloved fingers behind his glasses to rub his eyes as if the image were of his own design. As he massaged his image receptors, he heard a gasp escape Kalinka. He quickly took away his hands and saw what she had gasped at: a picture of a short, skinny man sporting a lab outfit. He had gray hair that shot out of either side of his head and a mustache that matched. The eyebrows were raised up higher than any person Blues had come across. He knew the man instantly as Albert William Wily, his co-creator.

What he didn't understand was why Kalinka seemed so shocked to see him. That was until he actually picked up what the news anchors were saying…

"_Albert Wily, formerly thought to be a madman after plotting to take over the world twice, has teamed up with his old colleague, Dr. Thomas Light. Why the two are working together has been explained that the once mad Dr. Wily has undergone psychological treatment and no longer has evil intentions. The two have joined together to work on a project they say will, 'benefit all of humanity; a peace-keeping machine with great power.' Exactly what this project was, they would not say. What we were told was that this machine would take some several months to finish. Updates will come to you as we receive them."_

Kalinka looked over at Blues expecting to see him as surprised as her. Instead, she found him sitting with one eyebrow raised above his shades. It interested him for as long as the message lasted.

"Come to think of it, I'm not quite as ready to head back as I thought. There's bound to be something more to discover on this continent," he stated plainly, albeit quickly. Even though that made Kalinka happy to hear, she couldn't help but wonder why the mention of his creators changed his mind so quickly. "Besides, I should train some more. Those other robots your dad made would be a great challenge."

Kalinka stared at him still, with evident shock and bewilderment on her face. He stood up and walked towards the main hall, arms dangling idly at his sides. Kalinka, who seemed to think that Blues had gone mad, decided to follow him. He glanced into each room he passed by until he got to the end of the hallway and found Diveman standing in the middle of a bedroom, presumably the scientist's. What Blues said next surprised both Diveman and Kalinka.

"Diveman, will you fight against me?"

"Fi- Fight you?" Diveman replied half-stunned. Blues only gave a quick nod which did not help Diveman or Kalinka figure out what was going on with the red and gray robot. Diveman gave Blues a curious look while thinking of how to respond.

"I have only been active for going on eight hours now, and you want me to fight you? That is an interesting thought. I really should test out my combat abilities. The Dive Missiles have yet to be used, but I can't use them on land anyway. Okay then, Blues. We'll take this out front. You do have an obvious advantage though."

Kalinka stepped into the room and cupped her chin thoughtfully. She then gasped with a smile and looked back at the two. Her eyes had a gleam in them.

"We can use the pool back behind the house! It's really deep so you should have plenty of room to maneuver, Diveman."

"It's perfect!" Blues and Diveman responded simultaneously. They then made preparations to swim. With Blues and Diveman, that consisted of doing nothing different. Kalinka, on the other hand, persisted that she go change into a bathing suit first. The two robots waited, both rather impatiently, while she went to swap her clothing. Diveman's eyes slowly drifted over to where Blues stood.

"I'm so going to kick your butt." They stood in silence for a moment as Blues looked up at him. At roughly the same time, they burst into laughter. When Kalinka came back, she couldn't help but think they were talking about her.

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A shorter chapter, I know. I should have spent more time on this than I did. I'm setting myself up for I long story, I think, and once I start, I must finish. As it stands, I have caught up with myself as far as uploading goes. The next update may be a little further off with schoolwork and all, but I'll work fast. Hope you enjoyed!  



	10. Diveman

**To my old fans. I must appologize for not updating this thing in months. First it was the writer's block, then the blah blah blah, you really don't care, right? ;P Anyway, I'm gonna try and get back on track with the story. It has been so long, I'm really trying to decide the best place to go from here. Unlike most stories, I don't really follow a general idea and write from that. Sure, I have some ideas for what will happen, and there is something I really plan on happening later on, but what goes on from here to there is just "as I go along" kind of stuff. Anyway, enough rambling here. I'm back. Journey Home is updated. You can read it. Yayz!**

**-Proto Stryker **

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**Chapter 10: Diveman  
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The Cossacks' pool was very large. As Blues walked out the back door and saw it, he wondered why Kalinka didn't just call it a lake. Blues hadn't changed his armor for swimming shorts because he knew good and well that he'd need all the protection he could get. Kalinka followed them outside sporting a one-piece bathing suit and her own pair of sunglasses. About then a wind whipped up and passed them by, leaving the Cossack girl shivering. Kalinka made her way over to a lounge chair and unfolded her beach towel. Blues watched thoughtfully as she sat down and used the towel like a blanket. Diveman was busy testing the temperature of the water with an index finger.

"The water is at eighty-seven degrees. That is much warmer than I would have thought for such a mountainous area. Miss Kalinka, why is it this warm?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as he looked at the water as if it would give him his answer.

"It's a heated pool, that's why. There are vents in the sides of the pool that take in the water and heat it up," she responded, pulling the towel up around her shoulders. Blues noticed that she was still freezing cold.

"Why don't you get in the water, too? I'm sure it's much warmer than this cold mountain air," he then looked over behind her and noticed a steaming pool. He sighed inwardly at this. "Or why don't you use that hot tub...?"

"The pool would be too dangerous, of course. Even though I know you'd both be very careful, Daddy wouldn't like the idea of me swimming in a battlefield. I won't be able to see you from that nice... warm... jacuzzi... Oh forget it, I'm getting in. Good luck to the both of you." Kalinka turned to the side in the chair and stood up, still shaking. "At least let me see you two dive in first."

The two robots looked at each other and nodded. Diveman refrained from saying, "That's my name" and instead leaned forward onto the tips of his feet. He spread both of his arms out as he fell into the water. He surfaced a few seconds later and watched Blues. To Diveman's surprise, Blues had walked over to where the chair was and laid his scarf down. The latter then returned to the poolside and squatted down, placing one hand on the edge of the pool. Blues then hopped off the side, putting both feet flat on the wall and letting the hand that grabbed the side slide down with him while the other clutched his shield. Being in his armor, Blues wouldn't be able to just get to the surface from so deep. Luckily, he didn't need to breathe anyway. He continued to slide down the wall until his feet stopped at the bottom. Diveman had submerged once again and swam in a spiral motion down to the floor.

Once he landed on the bottom, he gave Blues a blank stare, as if he were staring right through him. Blues didn't think much on this, as he was concentrating on the ship robot's first move. Kalinka could no longer see them, so instead got in the smaller pool. The two robots continued to stare at one another with a relentless, piercing intimidation. Blues' stare, which wasn't really that noticeably cold due to the visor, was only in reply to the submarine's own gaze. Diveman had some strange determination about him that shook the shield-wielding robot to his core. Abruptly, a smile appeared upon the blue master of the ocean. Blues instinctively gripped his shield harder, just incase.

Diveman's chest cavity flung open, revealing what appeared to be a gun barrel. Before Blues could discern what this would be used for, he found out. Two torpedoes shot out of the cannon, flying apart from one another, but both centering in on Blues. At the rate they were flying, it was clear to Blues that blocking both would be almost impossible. Knowing this, he jumped up and to his right, on a collision course with one of the torpedoes! He brought his shield around just in time to knock it away, before it exploded. He peered over his shoulder to see the other flying at his back. Spinning around, DRN 000 tried to block the missile, and it exploded on the shield, knocking him into a wall of the pool. Above water, next to the pool, Kalinka witnessed two jets of water shoot up, one after the other. Her eyes grew wide, and she wondered what Diveman could possibly be using against Blues.

Back under water, Blues attempted to kick off the wall, propelling himself at the ship-based robot. As he brought his shield around to ram into the Master, Diveman had leapt up into the air, his lower half spinning rapidly. A whirlpool surrounded him as he smashed into the silent savior's shield. Though Blues pushed forward with all he had, Diveman had more propulsion in the end and sent Blues sailing backwards again. He slid down the wall and just sat there, exhaling as bubbles escaped his mouth. He smiled at Diveman and stood up. Diveman had landed on the bottom of the pool once more. He thought the fight was over and didn't seem pleased with the results. Unlike Blues', Diveman's voice was much easier to understand when underwater.

"Are we through here already, Light-bot? I had hoped one of his creations might put up a longer fight at least."

Before Diveman could say another word, Blues was rocketing back at him, successfully pegging him in the stomach with his free hand. His right leg came around soon after to hit Diveman in the face. Diveman spun around from being kicked, leaving his back wide open to attack. Blues, who had braced himself on the floor of the pool once more, head-butted Diveman in the back. The force from the strike sent the Cossack Number 'bot headfirst into the far wall of the pool from where they first started fighting. The last attack had left quite a crack in the siding of the pool. It also left Diveman laying flat on his stomach. Blues neared the blue robot and started to place a metal boot on his back, but soon realized that a gigantic hand had wrapped itself around that very leg. Diveman rolled onto his back, swinging Blues over him and slamming the shield-clad bot into the floor of the pool.

"Big mistake, Blues. Now I've got you," he remarked, pulling Blues up off of the floor. The big brother of all robots grimaced. He was so close to victory, yet it eluded him. In this current state, he couldn't very well reach Diveman himself, and he wasn't sure what he could do about the sea robot's arm. Before he could think of something, Diveman got a grip on him and started to swing him into the floor again. When he pulled his arm up, Blues wrapped his own around the large limb. He slammed his helmeted head into the Cossack Number's elbow, bending the joint the wrong way. Diveman immediately dropped Blues with a yelp. At that, DRN-000 placed a hand on the submarine Master's head. Diveman nodded in response.

"Indeed. You have won. Now let's go back up top so Kalinka doesn't get worried," Diveman stated, knowing what Blues would ask if he could actually speak underwater well. He put his arm down to stand up, but only hurt his elbow again. Blues extended his left hand out to the robot, which gladly accepted it with his own and stood up. Still holding onto Blues' hand, Diveman used his internal buoyancy systems to rise up towards the surface of the water. Blues placed a hand on the side of the pool to hoist himself the rest of the way up. Kalinka came running towards the two of them, having just climbed out of the hot tub. She had a towel wrapped around her to keep warm. They were in the mountains after all. Diveman looked at Blues with a smile.

"You are indeed strong to not use any weapons, Blues. That was a great bout. I now know how far I can go with my abilities. Ms. Kalinka, I suggest we get you out of this cold weather in favor of a blanket and something warm to drink."

Blue smiled back at the sub bot. "You were incredibly strong yourself. I could have lost at any moment. You did great."

Kalinka was just happy they were both alright. She then gasped as she noticed Diveman's elbow, which was still bent backwards. Diveman just looked at it and said nothing of it.

"The doctor can fix this right up, Ms. Kalinka. It is nothing to worry about. Blues, you took some damage yourself. You should let the doctor look…"

"NO… I mean, no that's fine. I'll fix up the scratches and such on my own. My energy will replenish itself," Blues interjected. Diveman decided not to pursue it any further, and the three of them returned to inside the house. Kalinka only wondered why Blues would decline in such a way. She tried to shake the feeling, but couldn't, closing the back door behind her.


	11. Blueprints

**It appears I took another hiatus. Well, if I still have fans, here comes the next chapter in line for the story. Also, after seeing just how many stories on are called Journey Home, I decided I would rename the story. It is now Trials of Blues!  
Insert Disclaimer Here :P  
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** Chapter 11: Blueprints  
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Once they all had dried themselves off, Blues taking a blow dryer to get his own armor completely dry, the trio decided to check on the Russian scientist. The lab was still as brightly lit as ever, the Cossack series machines all surrounding the brown-haired man. When they'd realized that Kalinka, Diveman, and Blues had returned, Brightman tapped the seemingly busy scientist on the shoulder. Mikhail's expression of joy turned to shock when he saw that Diveman's arm had been bent outward.

"What happened here!?" he exclaimed, studying the damage immediately. The three of them told the story of the brawl over again, not missing any details. The doctor seemed overjoyed at the news of Diveman's successful missile attack. At the same time, he also was amazed at the scarlet warrior's fighting abilities.

"That makes this the second one of my robots you've defeated. I must say… you really are one of his creations. Not that I doubted you before, of course!" he rambled, seating Diveman on another workbench, near the one he'd been leaning on moments before, staring intently at some rough sketches. As he started to repair the elbow joint, Kalinka walked over to the drawing, which essentially turned out to be blueprints. Before she could even ask the question, Dr. Cossack spun around and pushed his glasses back up his nose.

"That, my daughter, is my final blueprint for DCN 004, Ringman! I wanted to give him a good purpose like the others, but there really is nothing I could think of for a robot like him," he pointed out the circular weapons that were Ringman's forte. "He'll be able to toss these razor sharp rings quite a distance before the magnets kick in and pull the rings back to him." Once more he was rambling, and both Kalinka and Blues were interested to some degree. The little girl did have one question, though.

"Father, how is it that Ringman is 004 if Diveman is 007? I mean, Diveman is already active, right?" she asked curiously. To that, the scientist smiled, preparing another speech in his mind. Blues sighed, as it seemed the both of them had met some kind of celebrity for the first time.

"Well, Kalinka, simply put I had made the designs for him just after Drillman was completed. Not to mention that I've been working on his actual body for the longest time now." At that, the Russian walked over to a pod laying flat on the floor, pressing a series of buttons on the side. The hatch of a door lifted up, revealing the red and yellow robot master. His head had one yellow ring that wrapped around it, with an antennae device sticking up from there.

"The only thing left to do with him is to perfect his weapons systems. The weapons themselves are good to go. He just needs a way to materialize them when he has to. Other than that…" Cossack pushed a single button on the pod's activation panel. Systems could be heard revving up within the gold-trimmed robot. The pupils of his eyes slowly appeared amongst the plain whiteness they were just moments before. He positioned himself in such a way that he could sit up easily enough. Standing on up, he glanced around the room.

"Dr. Mikhail Cossack, Ms. Kalinka Cossack, DCNs 001, 005, and 007, and robot of unknown origin, it is nice to meet you all." Ringman bowed to the group before continuing. "I am DCN 004, Ringman. I hope to meet the doctor's expectations."

After several minutes of getting to know everyone in the group, Ringman seemed to want to know much more about Blues. To this, the red and gray robot apologized and said that he didn't care to retell his tales. At this point, Blues was showing a lot of interest in Brightman. He walked up to him and decided he would ask him simply.

"I would like to test myself against you. Much like how I did with Diveman, actually." Brightman had seen the question coming ever since he heard of what happened to Diveman, and had already determined his response.

"Ok, to state it bluntly. You aren't ready to fight me yet. Your fighting traits are that of someone who needs to get close before doing any kind of damage. I, on the other hand, have this," he continued, turning his right hand into a buster arm, "and don't forget, I can also do this." Blues stared ahead only to see that Brightman was nowhere to be found. He spun around quickly to see that the bulb robot was laughing almost evilly. "Sorry my friend, but until you find a way to get around those two flaws, you won't be able to touch me."

Blues smirked, realizing that the Master before him was right. He did need to work on those two things before he ever fought Brightman. So instead of pursuing that any further, the visor-wearing robot turned to Dr. Cossack once more.

"Do you happen to have any teleportation pods anywhere? I was wondering if you could get one set to send me to the pyramids that Pharaohman is studying. I'd like to meet up with him. If there's one here, I'm sure there's a corresponding one there, am I right?"

Dr. Cossack laughed aloud at the robot's eagerness to fight. "Well, if you really are sure, there's a pod upstairs in a separate room. I can give you special access and send you that way." As soon as he'd said that, Kalinka wrapped herself around Blues.

"Don't go just yet! You should stay and rest up! You've barely been around long enough to get to know me, Blues." All the others in the room save Blues began to laugh at the situation, whereas he simply turned red, trying to get the girl out from around his midsection.

"It's not like I won't come back anyway," he began, separating himself from the sobbing lass. "After all, it's getting late. It would be pointless to head out tonight. I suppose I could stay another night and make preparations. Leaving now would only tire me out once I arrived. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Dr. Cossack looked at the robot intently before speaking up.

"So does this mean from now on you're going to run around challenging all of my creations?" he said with a laugh. "That sounds like quite a daunting task."

"If what I've heard about this Rockman is true, then I'm leagues behind as far as skill goes. I want to get better for the day when I meet him. I'm no inferior machine by any means," he replied. He could have sworn he heard Kalinka whisper, "Of course not! You're the best!" but put the thought out of his mind. "That's why I need to get better by challenging them. And Brightman," he continued, staring back at the master of light, "I will come back strong enough to take you on. And that's a promise."

When that was said and done, and Kalinka had finally dried her eyes and put on a smile while the enigmatic original was still around. The family returned to upstairs, where the Russian scientist showed Blues a room containing three teleportation pods, leading to Pharaohman, Drillman, and Dustman. Incidentally, Dr. Cossack was getting to show Ringman around at the same time. The orange-gold machine began testing his ring creating mechanisms in the meantime, spinning the golden disks around the tips of his index fingers. As Kalinka noted, he could be either a circus performer or a hair stylist. Sadly, he seemed to actually consider both of those, causing Blues to chuckle somewhat.

Mikhail finished the tour by cautioning Ringman against going inside Kalinka's room without permission. To that, the girl nodded innocently as the group assembled in the living room. "Alright… Blues, this is your last night with us albeit your only night. Still, you've gotten to know us fairly well and vice versa, despite the things you prefer to keep to yourself. So tonight, I want you to take it easy and we'll make preparations for your travels in the morning."

"Ah, yes sir, of course. I'm glad to have met you all, especially so many of my kind. It has been… nice. Thank you for sheltering me for today."

Before anything else could be said, the TV had been turned on and everyone found places to sit. Blues felt at peace, but even still, his mind was racing. He'd grown close to another family only a few days after running from his old one. His friends he'd played with were now both gone, but these new people were willing to take him in without knowing what he'd done. Then there was Rockman, some sort of hero. What would he do if they ever met? He wouldn't stand to be less of a robot than the blue savior is. Tomorrow would be a strange day at any rate. He did finally get relaxed and enjoyed himself, retiring to sleep on the couch when the others went to their respective chambers. Maybe finding the god-on-earth robot wouldn't be so hard. His mind dreamt while on standby of a large fortress shrouded in darkness. Lightning clapped and eight figures could be seen standing atop it. He then realized the fortress was like a castle in the mountains, the very mountains the Cossack household was among…


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